Afternoon sunlight filtered through the half-broken windows, and because he now had the teleportation card, Jian Yue could finally take the female ghost with him.
He turned to the trembling girl and said gently, “You just need to bring the two of us over.”
The moment she heard that, the girl burst into tears. Even though her boyfriend tried to comfort her, Tian Tian sobbed uncontrollably, shaking every time she looked at the ghost. Her mind seemed to have gone completely blank.
Jian Yue stepped closer and asked softly, “Are you alright?”
The girl could only cry harder, unable to speak.
Jian Yue sighed. “If you can’t bring three people over, it’s not a big problem.”
At those words, Tian Tian’s tear-stained face lit up with a hint of hope. She looked up at him, thinking she might be spared.
But Jian Yue only smiled pleasantly and said, “Anyway, since you’ve already seen her, when my mission fails and she comes looking for you again, you won’t have to bring three people next time. You can spend time with her alone. Isn’t that nice?”
The room fell into complete silence.
After a long pause, Tian Tian suddenly straightened, her voice loud and clear, “I can do it! I’ll take you both there!”
Jian Yue smiled, patting her shoulder approvingly. “Good girl. That’s the spirit.”
The boyfriend beside her looked uneasy, glancing between them as if wanting to say something but holding it back.
Jian Yue said calmly, “I can’t promise there won’t be danger once we get there. I can’t even promise I’ll bring her back safely or that I’ll come back myself. But one thing I can promise you: as long as I’m still breathing, if anything happens, I won’t abandon her and run.”
That quiet vow made both of them flush with guilt. After all, just the day before, they had fled and left Jian Yue alone in danger.
Tian Tian wiped her face with the back of her hand and said, choking a little, “I’ll go with you. But I need to know the exact place first, otherwise I can’t teleport there.”
Jian Yue nodded. He turned to the ghost and said, “You know where it is. Can you describe it to us?”
The ghost nodded slowly. Her voice was cold and hollow, but still barely understandable.
The two humans nearby were so frightened at first that they dared not look directly at her, yet when they saw Jian Yue frown in mild irritation and ask her to “make it clearer,” something inside them oddly relaxed.
It felt… absurd, almost laughably so, like they had gone so far past fear that they’d reached a strange, peaceful kind of madness.
The live-stream chat exploded with laughter.
“Hahahaha! Finally it’s not just us losing our minds!”
“The world’s upside down at this point!”
“Damn, this guy’s cards really have zero warning when they activate.”
“Of course, it’s a gold card!”
“But wait! What’s the side effect?”
“Oh hell, we didn’t even notice!”
Every time Jian Yue somehow survived the impossible, the audience was too busy being entertained to think about it.
They’d long stopped paying attention to the mysterious “side effects” that came with his cards, though the monsters’ bizarre reactions every time he used one should have been a clue.
Jian Yue himself had been wondering about that lately, but there wasn’t time to think.
Tian Tian said, “Brother, is this the place you’re looking for? We’re already inside the building.”
Jian Yue turned toward the ghost. “The person you’re searching for used to live here?”
The ghost nodded.
From the outside, the old library looked dilapidated and abandoned, but when Jian Yue pushed open the door, the interior was unexpectedly clean.
From the entrance, he could see rows of bookshelves lined with sealed boxes, each filled with dust-covered files and records.
Almost the moment he saw the documents, a crisp mechanical sound rang in his ears:
[Main Mission] — “The Secret of Wanfu Village” progress updated: 20%.
Jian Yue’s eyes widened.
Bingo. He’d found it. This must be the key place tied to the village’s secret.
If he could push the progress to one hundred percent, he’d finally be able to leave this world.
The thought alone filled him with renewed energy.
He turned to the ghost. “There’s a lot here. Do you know which file the person you’re looking for is in?”
The ghost slowly shook her head.
Jian Yue: “…”
It was like finding a needle in an ocean. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.
Still, since the system had updated the mission, it meant he was on the right track. Something he needed had to be here.
He approached one of the boxes and lifted the lid. Inside was a yellowed file folder. Though the handwriting was faded, he could still barely make out the words.
Tian Tian leaned close and read aloud, “Archaeological Expedition Records, Year 1521, Personnel Files.”
Fifteen-twenty-one!
She gasped. “I knew there were normal people here after all!”
After more than an hour of searching and matching the ghost’s fragmented memories with the archaeologists’ maps, they roughly pinpointed a possible location.
“I’ll start the teleport,” Tian Tian said nervously.
“Alright,” Jian Yue nodded. “Thanks for the trouble.”
Tian Tian hesitated, then whispered, “We have to hold hands.”
She grabbed Jian Yue’s hand first but couldn’t bring herself to touch the ghost. Jian Yue didn’t mind. As a former forensic pathologist, he was used to contact with corpses.
Without a second thought, he clasped the ghost’s cold, bone-white hand.
He even sighed lightly, saying, “You’re way too thin. You should eat more. Exercise a bit too. Might help with that memory of yours.”
The ghost, Tian Tian, and the live-stream audience: “…”
After that, he told Tian Tian calmly, “Alright. Hold tight. You can go now.”
The three of them formed a small chain. Jian Yue had assumed her card would activate automatically, but Tian Tian took a deep breath and muttered under her breath, “I want to fly, I want to fly, I want to fly higher!”
“…”
The world around them twisted.
A fleeting moment of weightlessness then everything changed.
When Jian Yue opened his eyes again, they were standing under the eaves of a five-story brick house.
The old building looked like it had seen decades of decay, its roof tiles cracked, the wooden sign above the entrance barely hanging on by a nail yet the faded characters were still visible: Library.
Jian Yue blinked, speechless. “You have to chant a slogan to use your card?”
Tian Tian nodded timidly. “Brother Dao said every card has a main skill and a side effect. For example, my boyfriend’s lightning card lets him channel electricity as an attack but every time he uses it, he has to shout ‘Grant me five hundred more years!’ or it won’t work.”
Jian Yue: “…”
He used to think his cards were absurd, but after seeing others’, he suddenly felt much better about his.
Tian Tian asked curiously, “Brother, yours doesn’t need a chant?”
Jian Yue thought for a moment. “Nope.”
That small exchange reminded the audience of something, they’d never actually seen what his card’s side effect was.
Jian Yue and Tian Tian exchanged a glance, then opened another file folder. Inside were names, dozens of them and after each name, without exception, a red cross was drawn.
In archival terms, that symbol meant deceased.
Jian Yue flipped through the entire file. Every single person had been crossed out. A whole list of red marks, one after another, glaring like fresh blood.
He closed the folder and picked up another. It was the same. Every single record, the archaeologists who had ever come to Wanfu Village, each file ended with the same crimson cross.
For a long moment, none of them spoke.
Tian Tian trembled violently. Her role in this world was that of an archaeologist. She clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide with terror, “They’re all dead… every one of them died… No one ever made it out alive!”
Jian Yue’s expression darkened. A single unlucky expedition could be chalked up to tragedy but every team, every year? That couldn’t be a coincidence.
“Don’t jump to conclusions,” he said steadily. “We haven’t gone through everything yet. Maybe some survived. Don’t start crying for them just yet.”
His calm voice anchored the room. The terror in Tian Tian’s heart eased slightly.
She realized how remarkable Jian Yue was, no matter the situation, he always carried a kind of effortless composure. Being beside him made even the darkest place feel safer. It was impossible not to trust him.
Well… except for the part where he kept a ghost following him everywhere.
Just as she was about to speak, a sudden sound of footsteps echoed outside the building.
Her face went pale. No one ever came out here, it was too remote. Before she could warn them, the door of the archive room was kicked open.
A tall woman stood in the doorway. She wore a faded floral blouse and cloth shoes, her gaze sharp and unyielding. “What are you doing in here? This is the archives! Outsiders aren’t allowed!”
Tian Tian gasped, stepping back in horror. “It’s her…”
Jian Yue frowned. “Who is she?”
Tian Tian whispered, “The carpenter’s wife. She’s stubborn as a mule, whatever she says goes. If she says outsiders can’t stay, she’ll never let us remain here.”
Sure enough, the woman stepped forward, her cloth shoes hitting the floor with heavy, deliberate thuds. “Didn’t you hear me, outsiders? Get out of here! now!”
Jian Yue’s mind raced. His hide-and-seek mission still had four hours left. If he left now, he’d lose his chance at the reward, the ancestral hall key.
Leaving wasn’t an option.
Thinking quickly, he said, “We’re just here to check some records. We won’t make a mess. The village chief already approved it.”
The carpenter’s wife froze, clearly hesitating.
Jian Yue’s heart lifted, was she convinced?
But then she sneered. “Even if the village chief said so, this archive is my responsibility. Our ancestors left clear rules, outsiders can’t come in. Even if the King of Heaven himself showed up today, you still wouldn’t be allowed to stay!”
Jian Yue’s expression darkened again. This was getting troublesome.
Before he could think of another excuse, the woman lifted a feather duster like a weapon and strode toward them. “Out! All of you!”
Just as she was about to reach them..
A flash of gold streaked through the air before Jian Yue’s eyes.
A card spun once in midair and then released glowing words:
[Eight-Trigram Skill Activated]
[Breaking News: Breaking news! The village chief’s wife and the carpenter’s secret affair has been discovered! Their new trysting spot is no longer the ancestral hall, it’s now behind the woods!]
[Skill cooldown: 12 hours]
The message echoed through the air, and then… silence.
Jian Yue blinked. “…”
What the hell? This gossip has sequels now?!
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The Realm’s ancient scrolls mention something called… “buy them a coffee.”
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Master, Calm DownChapter 2 · This Damn ValleyChapter 3 · The Old slave Is here!Chapter 4 · Shocked my Friend?Chapter 5 · Life Doesn’t have that many viewers but Live doesChapter 6 · Science is Primary productive ForceChapter 7 · A one million in a card!Chapter 8 · You’re First Person to reject Young MasterChapter 9 · He saved meChapter 10 · Your Life is mineChapter 11 · This village is such a Mess!Chapter 12 · Little GoblinChapter 13 · Who should be afraid of whom?Chapter 14 · I, an honest person, don’t understand these thingsChapter 15 · The world is finally upside downChapter 16 · Made a decision that went against our ancestorsChapter 17 · Young Master hasn’t laughed so happily in a long timeChapter 18 · Brother, you smell so good!Chapter 19 · Licking everything to the endChapter 20 · This mental state is too advancedChapter 21 · Enough, let’s stop this farce!Chapter 22 · Young master, please let me explain!Chapter 23 Part 2 · You’re playing with fire!Chapter 23 Part 2 · You’re playing with fire!Chapter 24 Part 1 · The light of righteousness shines upon the earthChapter 24 Part 2 · The light of righteousness shines upon the earthChapter 25 Part 1 · You two-faced man!Chapter 25 Part 2 · You two-faced man!Chapter 26 Part 1 · Butler Wang, I see you still retain your charmChapter 26 Part 2 · Butler Wang, I see you still retain your charmChapter 27 Part 1 · I’m straight, bro!Chapter 27 Part 2 · I’m straight, bro!Chapter 28 Part 1 · This is a blatant violation of citizens’ portrait rights!Chapter 28 Part 2 · This is a blatant violation of citizens’ portrait rights!Chapter 29 Part 1 · The domineering CEO falls in love with me!Chapter 29 Part 2 · The domineering CEO falls in love with me!Chapter 30 Part 1 · Take this Five million and leave my son!Chapter 30 Part 2 · Take this Five million and leave my SonChapter 31 Part 1 · Biting me means you’re arrogantChapter 31 Part 2 · Biting me means you’re arrogantChapter 32 Part 1 · Has butler realise his mistake?Chapter 32 Part 2 · Has butler realise his mistake?Chapter 33 Part 1 · The simple master-servant relationship has soured!Chapter 33 Part 2 · The simple master-servant relationship has soured!Chapter 34 Part 1 · A one-night stand by the domineering CEO leads him to fall in love with meChapter 34 Part 2 · A one-night stand by the domineering CEO leads him to fall in love with meChapter 35 Part 1 · This tastes damn sweet!Chapter 35 Part 2 · This tastes damn sweet!Chapter 36 Part 1 · I will take responsibility for youChapter 36 Part 2 · I will take responsibility for youChapter 37 Part 1 · He will never drink again!Chapter 37 Part 2 · He will never drink again!Chapter 38 Part 1 · He said he didn’t want itChapter 38 Part 2 · He said he didn’t want itChapter 39 · Now is not the time to ask for a title!Chapter 40 Part 1 · Brother Dao, how can I live without you!Chapter 40 Part 2 · Brother Dao, how can I live without you!Chapter 41 · What a human-like beastChapter 42 Part 1 · This damned ancestral hall has successfully caught my attention!Chapter 42 Part 2 · This damned ancestral hall has successfully caught my attention!Chapter 43 · After the overall situation is fully opened upChapter 44 · Village chief, are you really that vigorous for your age?Chapter 45 · Butler Wang, I love you!Chapter 46 · What exactly do you see in me?Chapter 47 · I swear to GodChapter 48 · All I want to do is die with himChapter 49 · I’m going to kill themChapter 50 · Who would like Shen YushuChapter 51 · Young master, I want to cling to you tightly!Chapter 52 · They’ve run away together! They’ve run away together!Chapter 53 · Sworn BrothersChapter 54 · My boss is the best in the world to meChapter 55 · I want you all to be buried with him.Chapter 56 · It’s a beautiful day outside Wanfu VillageChapter 57 · You don’t have anyone you want to seeChapter 58 · I’m married! Married!Chapter 59 · The Cold Prince’s SweetheartChapter 60 · Young master, this old servant has arrived! ~Chapter 61 · Who else could do something so outrageous?Chapter 62 · Boy, I got my eyes on youChapter 63 · Does Butler Wang really want to see him that much?Chapter 64 · Come on, call me Dad!Chapter 65 · Other men might have it too!!Chapter 66 · Being obsessed with love is indeed a major problemChapter 67 · He’s playing the devoted second male lead!Chapter 68 · The number one person to wash underwear with a cold face!Chapter 69 · Young master, will you be back for dinner tonight?Chapter 70 · Others ask for money to save peopleChapter 71 · Wang, please don’t die!Chapter 72 · My current identity is that of a father!Chapter 73 · Here’s your chance to confess!Chapter 74 · That’s definitely someone with connections!Chapter 75 · This is my personChapter 76 · How come you’re already married?Chapter 77 · I’m going to pester you, young master!Chapter 78 · How do you turn a straight man gay?!Chapter 79 · Am I Butler Wang’s mistress?!Chapter 80 · He really does have a fiancé!Chapter 81 · Don’t stay with himChapter 82 · Man, you asked for this!Chapter 83 · Was he just acting like this?Chapter 84 · The second male lead is about to turn the tables and become the master!!Chapter 85 · This trick is cheapChapter 86 · How dare you cheat on me!Chapter 87 · Are you an undercover agent sent by Butler Wang?Chapter 88 · I think of my master day and nightChapter 89 · These wealthy families really know how to have funChapter 90 · You possess such advanced talent that you can enter Hope IslandChapter 91 · Be my Consort!Chapter 92 · Young Master, are you really angry?!Chapter 93 · I swear I will only love you!Chapter 94 · Who bullied you?Chapter 95 · Just a quick favor!Chapter 96 · This is no challenge for him at all!!Chapter 97 · He’s no match for them!Chapter 98 · Xiaoyu, I only love youChapter 99 · This is Butler Wang’s territory!Chapter 100 · Is this how you treat your savior?Chapter 101 · You two are definitely a family!Chapter 102 · Who is your mother-in-law?Chapter 103 · Are we really going to send him to his death?Chapter 104 · He married him againChapter 105 · How can someone be so carefree?Chapter 106 · Butler Wang has done immeasurable good deeds!Chapter 107 · Only those who survive can be considered heroes!Chapter 108 · Since we’re going toChapter 109 · I love youChapter 110 · I will never leave you again.Chapter 111 · The Overbearing King’s Gentle PamperingChapter 112 · Mainly, I kind of want to be your auntChapter 113 · Don’t easily test my limitsChapter 114 · He’s seducing me!Chapter 115 · Uncle opened the doorChapter 116 · The world of the wealthy is such a mess!Chapter 117 · Your old servant is here!Chapter 118 · Xiaoyu, you’ve gone astray!!!Chapter 119 · Uncle, you have to keep this a secret!Chapter 120 · Who’s child is this?Chapter 121 · Butler Wang really has a crush on me!Chapter 122 · One person has surrounded everyone!Chapter 123 · Are you guys playing this fancy?!Chapter 124 · Even gamers are working for him!Chapter 125 · If you fall into the river, I’ll save you first!Chapter 126 · What a troublesome little devilChapter 127 · Does the Puppet Master app have anti-fraud features?Chapter 128 · You’re a scorpion demon incarnate!Chapter 129 · How about we give it a try?Chapter 130 · The dog shit will arrive faster than your knife!Chapter 131 · Is he hungry too?Chapter 132 · We even stayed a few days less than them!Chapter 133 · How about I marry you so you can take my place?Chapter 134 · This is truly a team full of villains!Chapter 135 · It’s clearly an auspicious omen!Chapter 136 · Is it normal to think my brother smells good?Chapter 137 · You’re the biggest capitalist here!Chapter 138 · What happened to true love?Chapter 139 · Romantic types are strictly prohibited from participating in horror dungeons!!!Chapter 140 · What should I do with Butler Wang!?Chapter 141 · Butler Wang! The most courageous man ever!Chapter 142 · What are you doing?!Chapter 143 · Man, you’re playing with fire!Chapter 144 · I heard a heartbeatChapter 145 · Can puppets also have superb kissing skills?Chapter 146 · What else is real then?!Chapter 147 · Seduction? That won’t work on me!Chapter 148 · What is my uncle doing?!Chapter 149 · Uncle, you don’t treat others like this!Chapter 150 · I’ll give you five million!!Chapter 151 · We’re true love!Chapter 152 · Sister-in-law, I genuinely want to help you!Chapter 153 · They can even find an excuse to sleep together!Chapter 154 · Butler Wang iis popular among young people.Chapter 155 · Who says Butler Wang’s strategy guide is bad?Chapter 156 · I’ll remarry the moment you’re in your coffin!Chapter 157 · Now it’s your turn to beg me or not